CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.?Austin Peay State University men's cross country team has been picked to finish sixth and the women seventh in a preseason poll of Ohio Valley Conference coaches.

That is a slight improvement over where APSU finished last fall:  the Governors finished seventh while the Lady Govs were eighth in the 2007 OVC championships.

Eastern Kentucky men and women's cross country squads were picked as the favorites for the 2008 season. Last season both EKU programs claimed championships, with the women winning for the 22nd time in history and the men claiming its 16th crown.

In the men's voting, EKU (81 points, 9 first-place votes) was followed by Morehead State (64 points, 1 first-place vote), Eastern Illinois (59) and Jacksonville State (59), Southeast Missouri  (56), Austin Peay (44), Tennessee Tech (34), Murray State (25), UT Martin (18) and Tennessee State (10).

On the women's side, EKU (81 points, 9 first-place votes) was followed by Murray State (68 points, 1 first-place vote), Eastern Illinois (56), Southeast Missouri State (51), Jacksonville State (45) and Tennessee Tech (45), APSU (43), Morehead State (31), Tennessee State (15) and UT Martin (13).

The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships will be held, Nov. 1, in Cape Girardeau, Mo., with Southeast Missouri serving as host.

-AP-